


it's all uncharted

by blackkat



Series: Rare Pair Drabbles [28]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, F/M, First Meetings, Fix-It, Flirting, Frenemies, Friendship, Hatake Kakashi is a Troll, Humor, M/M, it's a good thing everyone loves him anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 23:46:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16397366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat
Summary: Zabuza's got a thing for vicious, especially when it comes wrapped up in a cute package.





	it's all uncharted

Zabuza would be lying if he said he hadn’t been relishing this exact moment the whole way from Kiri. Mei knows it, too; he can see the amusement on her face, the tell of a smile she’s trying to keep buried as they approach the gates. Part of him wants to kick her for it, but then she’d cause a scene and that would defeat the whole purpose of staging this encounter.

Ahead of them, Konoha's gates creak, start to move. Slow, ponderous, dramatic, and with the sun setting the light tumbles through the gate to illuminate the shadowed road like they're stepping into a golden city. Zabuza’s reluctantly impressed with the theatrics of it, even as he takes half a step to the left, letting Ao cover Mei's right. He’s good with either hand, and while they're not expecting trouble, it never hurts to be prepared.

“Mizukage-sama,” a woman says, warm, and a figure steps out of the light, formal red robes and blonde hair and a smile that Mei returns.

“Hokage-sama,” she responds, and when Tsunade stretches out a hand Mei clasps her wrist. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“And it’s an honor to meet the first kunoichi to become a Kage,” Tsunade returns, the lines around her eyes all humor. “Welcome to Konoha.”

Anyone who didn’t grow up with Mei would probably miss the fact that Tsunade's words fluster her, leave her groping for a response for one half-second longer than normal before she answers, “Thank you for the invitation.”

Zabuza would snort, except that Mei would make him suffer for it later, and the fact that he’s got a distraction of his own. There's a small collection of shinobi behind Tsunade, her Jounin Commander and one of her advisors and two assistants, and then—

Kakashi turns away from speaking to one of the chuunin guarding the gates, gaze sweeping over the party. Lazy, unconcerned, hands in his pockets and slouching faintly, the picture of disinterest right up until his eye lands on Zabuza.

He freezes, eye widening, and Zabuza grins. He steps forward as Mei moves into the village, then shifts aside, puts himself right in line with Kakashi and touches two fingers to his brow in lazy salute.

“Copy-Nin” he drawls, and offers a hand.

“Zabuza.” It’s equal parts relief and disbelief in Kakashi’s tone, and he grips Zabuza’s wrist, then uses his hold to haul him in. Zabuza startles slightly, but an arm hooks around his shoulders, tight and steady and familiar. A hug, and Zabuza can't help but laugh a little, looping an arm around Kakashi in return. Not what he expected, but still satisfying.

“I see you're still in one piece,” he says dryly, and Kakashi makes a sound of amusement.

“I think I should be saying that,” he retorts, and pulls back, gaze sweeping over Zabuza carefully. His eye lingers on the scars still visible on Zabuza’s arms, ringing the base of his throat, in his hands, and beneath his mask the line of his mouth tightens, though he doesn’t say anything. Just glances behind Zabuza, careful, and then asks quietly, “Haku?”

Zabuza snorts. “Fine,” he says. “Cursing out our Mizukage any chance he gets. She promoted him and gave him a genin team.”

Amusement flickers over Kakashi’s face. “I'm sure he’ll do well with that,” he says. “He recovered? When you disappeared, I thought…”

“Yeah,” Zabuza says. Keeps it gentle, just a little, because he’d known what Kakashi and his team would probably infer from him up and leaving with Haku after the fight on the bridge, but he’d done it anyway. He’d been riding a realization, a new understanding of what he wanted, and in light of that he couldn’t sit around any longer. “Figured the villagers wouldn’t take too kindly to Gato’s muscle sticking around, and besides. It was time for us to go back to Kiri.”

“There are three people who are going to be very relieved to hear that,” Kakashi says, like he’s not counting himself among them. His eye crinkles in a smile, and he tips his head. “Whatever you said to Sasuke after the fight—I think you made an impact.”

“You mean he listened?” Zabuza raises a brow, a little surprised, because he didn’t expect the miniature Uchiha brat to so much as acknowledge that they spoke, let alone change anything because of it.

Kakashi hums, light but easy. “Apparently,” he says, like Zabuza can't read the weight of his relief in his face, even when it’s half-hidden.

There's a sudden scuff off to the side, a wary, “Kakashi?” Zabuza blinks, lifts his head, and Mei and Tsunade are halfway down the street already. Still guarded, because Ameyuri and Ao are both there, so Zabuza isn't worried. He just glances at one of the Hokage's assistants, raising a brow at the man, and gets an immediate flush in answer, a stutter.

 _Huh_ , Zabuza thinks, and grins at him.

Instead of either blanching or blushing again, the chuunin’s mouth flattens into a thin line, and he says, “Kakashi, even if he’s a friend you should—”

“He’s my enemy, not my friend,” Kakashi says blithely. “I killed him in Wave. Iruka, meet Zabuza.”

Iruka freezes, looking like he hasn’t the first idea what to do with that.

“ _Tried_ to kill me,” Zabuza corrects, and raps his knuckles against the side of Kakashi’s head. “You sure as hell didn’t manage it, scarecrow. Quit bragging.”

“I'm pretty sure I remember carrying you back to Tazuna’s house,” Kakashi says mildly. “Like a pretty, pretty princess.”

“Oh, fuck off.” Zabuza shoves him sideways, and Kakashi sways with it like a tree in a storm but doesn’t shift his feet. Comes right back, instead, and hooks two fingers into Kubikiribōchō’s harness, then uses it to tug Zabuza along like a dog on a leash. Zabuza rolls his eyes but doesn’t protest.

“ _Kakashi_ ,” Iruka says mulishly, tightening his grip on his clipboard as he follows. “Tsunade-sama wanted you to stay for the meeting.”

“Maa, maa, Iruka, we’ll make the meeting eventually,” Kakashi says breezily, like he’s not heading in the opposite direction entirely.

“Kakashi!” the chuunin squawks. “On _time_!”

“I will be,” Kakashi lies blithely. “Or, well, probably. You know how many distractions there are along the road of life—”

Iruka makes a sound like a cat dropped into a pond, grabs for something in his pocket, and lunges. Instantly, Kakashi twists, putting Zabuza between himself and Iruka, but Iruka doesn’t even hesitate. He grabs Zabuza’s elbow, slingshots himself around Zabuza’s side, and crashes into Kakashi—

A puff of smoke, and a log drops to the ground.

Zabuza snatches the back or Iruka’s flak jacket before he can hit the ground face-first, hauls him back to his feet, and says dryly, “He’s a fucking pain, isn't he?”

But Iruka isn't spitting curses, he’s _smirking_. As Zabuza drops him back on his feet, he turns, scanning the rooftops around them, and then jabs a victorious finger at one spot, drops his hands, and forms a seal. “Ha!”

There’s a flare of golden light, bright and blinding. A barrier erupts in midair, and Kakashi, caught in the center of it, yelps and flails as he’s suddenly in freefall. The seal on the back of his flak jacket flickers, then shifts, and bands of paper wrap themselves around him until he’s practically mummified. He hits the street with a thump and a shriek, raising a cloud of dust, and Zabuza winces.

“Fuck,” he says, and sets Iruka on his feet. “You're a vicious little bastard.”

“We can't all be six feet,” Iruka says, a little waspishly, and straightens his vest with a tug. “The Hokage gave me permission to use any means necessary to get Kakashi to the meeting on time.”

Zabuza snickers, and follows Iruka as he heads for Kakashi. “I'm not complaining. That was a thing of beauty. You a barrier specialist?”

Iruka flushes from hairline to collar, and waves his hands like he’s warding off Zabuza’s words. “No, no! I'm a teacher at the Academy! I just run errands for the Hokage sometimes, too.”

“Huh.” Zabuza looks him over, raising a brow. Barrier ninjutsu is pretty specialized, but he can see why it would be useful for a teacher to know it. At more than one point while he was training Haku, Zabuza _definitely_ wished he knew some.

Kakashi, wrapped in seal-paper from nose to ankles, makes a sad sound as they approach, kicking his feet as much as he can manage. Iruka gives him a filthy look, then hesitates.

“Here,” Zabuza says easily. He leans past Iruka, scoops Kakashi up in one hand, and tosses him over his shoulder. Less weight than Kubikiribōchō, that’s for sure, so it’s easy enough.

Kakashi makes a muffled noise of protest, wiggling like a landed fish, but Zabuza just snorts and tells him, “You brought this on yourself. And don’t give me that look, we’re enemies, remember?”

With a huff, Kakashi goes limp, spitefully turning himself into deadweight on Zabuza’s shoulder. Zabuza rolls his eyes and says, “You’re lighter than my sword no matter what you do. Nice try, asshole.”

There's a cough, and when Zabuza glances over Iruka is rubbing the scar over the bridge of his nose, cheeks flushed. “Are you—you're carrying your sword, too,” he points out. “Do you want help?”

“Just show me where to go,” Zabuza says with a shrug. “Mei's out of sight, and I’ve never been to Konoha. You guys aren’t fond of missing-nin.”

“Missing-nin,” Iruka repeats, and then his eyes widen. “You're _that_ Kiri-nin? The one Naruto met in Wave?”

“Yeah,” Zabuza says, a little surprised. “You know the brat?”

“He’s—he’s like my little brother,” Iruka admits, flushing again.

Zabuza snickers, jostling Kakashi a little. “Yeah? Well, you're both tricky fuckers. He got closer to ghosting me than the Copy-Nin managed.”

“He’s told me all about your fights,” Iruka says, and he sounds proud. “And about Haku, as well.”

Smiling a little, Zabuza glances up, towards the stone faces of the Hokage looming in the distance. No copy of Naruto's face up there yet, but—maybe someday. The brat was definitely driven enough to make it. “Haku couldn’t make it, since he just got assigned a genin team. But we’ll be around for the next Chuunin Exams at least. Maybe sooner, depending on what bullshit Mei wants to pull with ambassadors and shit.”

“You're in the running?” Iruka asks, startled, and then turns bright red when Zabuza raises a brow at him. “I mean—you're—not that—!”

Before he can dig himself any deeper into that verbal hole Zabuza chuckles. “Yeah, so I've been told,” he answers. “After all the fuckery between Kiri and Konoha, Mei wants to make sure nothing happens again. I helped fund her rebellion, and started the first one, so she’s using me as a symbol or shit.”

Kakashi makes an interested sound, flopping a little, but Iruka just gives him a dirty look before he smiles at Zabuza, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, I can't remember the last Kiri ambassador, so you’ll have free rein,” he says. “And Konoha is a good village! We have some of the best ramen in the Elemental Countries!”

“The brat mentioned that,” Zabuza says in amusement. He looks Iruka over, then gives him a grin. “Sounds like the kind of thing I should try. You’ll have to show me where to find it.”

The tips of Iruka’s ears are bright red, but he smiles back, warm and a little eager. “Sure. You can tell me how the Wave mission _really_ went, since I only have Naruto's account. And I'm sure he got most of it, but you're not eight feet tall, so he might have been…embellishing.”

“Sounds like something he would do,” Zabuza agrees. “It’s a date, then.”

Kakashi groans, long and pointed, and tries to knee Zabuza in the stomach. Instantly, Zabuza drops him, catches him by the barely-visible collar of his flak jacket, and dangles him off the ground like a fish on a line. “Really, asshole?” he asks, unimpressed.

Kakashi gives him a judgmental stare, then wriggles pointedly. Zabuza just rolls his eyes, marching through the door that Iruka holds open for him.

“A—a date sounds good,” Iruka agrees, voice just a little high as he follows Zabuza towards a set of stairs. Zabuza can see Ameyuri near the top, watching with a wide grin, but she doesn’t say anything. Just waves, then flashes him a Hunter-nin’s _good luck_ sign, and Zabuza flips her off.

Kakashi squirms, scraping his cheek against his shoulder until the seal-paper is down around his chin. “ _Iruka_ ,” he says, chiding except for the humor in his eye. “Are you leading the possible Kiri ambassador on?”

Iruka splutters. “ _What_? I'm not—I haven’t—”

Beaming, Kakashi says, “Agreeing to a date without letting him know you're a top. Were you going to let Zabuza find out the hard way?”

Iruka makes a high, desperate noise and buries his face in his hands, every inch of visible skin brilliant crimson.

“Keep your nose the fuck out of things that aren’t your business, Hatake,” Zabuza tells him, rolling his eyes, and he’s a little offended that Kakashi would think he didn’t peg that fact immediately. He tips his head at a grinning Ameyuri, and she ducks forward, grabbing Kakashi around the waist and pulling him out of Zabuza’s hold. She’s tiny enough that Kakashi’s knees pretty much scrape the floor, but her grip is like iron and Zabuza knows that from _experience_. Kakashi isn't getting away now.

“For _me_ , Zabuza?” she laughs. “A present! And you wrapped it up and everything!”

“Have fun,” Zabuza tells her, even as Kakashi’s eye widens.

He looks from a still-blushing Iruka to Zabuza’s shark-grin, then slowly lets his gaze slide up to Ameyuri’s vicious smile, and there's a long moment of silence. Then, with a sigh, he wriggles a little to get comfortable and says philosophically, “At least the scenery is better now.”

Ameyuri laughs. “I think I like you,” she says cheerfully. “There's a whole _list_ of games I want to try with you, gorgeous.”

“Games?” Kakashi repeats, like he doesn’t know whether to be interested or wary, but he’s very definitely stopped trying to get away.

Zabuza snorts softly, stepping around the pair of them, and tugs Iruka along with him. “A romance for the records,” he says dryly. “They’re both awful, it’s like they're made for each other.”

Iruka mutters something that’s entirely uncomplimentary under his breath, but he pulls away to get the door to the Hokage's office. “Now I _really_ need ramen,” he says, halfway to plaintive.

“After the meeting?” Zabuza suggests, and smirks when red creeps back into his ears. That’s a fun reaction. Even more fun if it eventually ends the way Zabuza hopes it will.

“Okay,” Iruka says squeakily, and ducks into the office, desperately clearing his throat. “Sorry, Hokage-sama, I got him!”

Tsunade is watching them with a raised brow that says she heard every word. “That’s not all you got, apparently,” she says, dust-dry, and Mei laughs.

“Settling in?” she asks Zabuza sweetly, and he flips her off.

“Told the Hokage that you used to write love letters to her?” he returns, and Mei's smile freezes quicker than Haku's jutsus have ever managed.

“What?” Tsunade asks, blinking.

Slowly, deliberately, Mei bushes to her feet. “I hope you’ve made funeral preparations,” she tells Zabuza, pushing her sleeves up.

“You wanted a spring wedding, right?” Zabuza retorts.

Tsunade catches Mei's elbow before she can take a step. “If you kill your new ambassador we’re going to have to start this meeting over,” she says wryly. “And while I understand the urge…” She flicks a glance at Kakashi, being hauled into the room in the crook of Ameyuri’s arm, and rolls her eyes. “And I've always been partial to June weddings, myself.”

Mei's eyes widen, and for the first time in _years_ Zabuza gets to see her at a loss for words. With a smirk, he leans back against the wall, then gives Iruka a grin.

Hiding a smile of his own behind his hand, Iruka settles next to him, and murmurs, “You're friends?”

“Same genin team,” Zabuza confirms, and snorts. “She’s fucking _unbearable_ when she pines.”

For a moment something flickers across Iruka’s face, and he asks, “Are you—will you like Konoha enough to make up for leaving Kiri? It’s—”

“Konoha's apparently got some good points,” Zabuza says, and casts him a smirk. “Like ramen.”

Iruka smiles back, embarrassed but determined. “And other things,” he promises.

“I'm going to need someone to show me around,” Zabuza says casually, raising a brow, and Iruka flushes bright red but meets his eyes. 

"More dates?" he asks, and it's almost a dare. 

"Fuck yeah," Zabuza agrees, grinning. 


End file.
